A report emerged this week claiming West Ham are planning on terminating the contract of Ravel Morrison.

While an incredible shame, it is not entirely unexpected, given the way he has been effectively annexed from the first team.

Morrison has recently been on loan at Cardiff, but this has ended and the club have instructed him to train with the under-21s.

The paper which ran the story, The Telegraph, also claimed that he has an expensive release clause in his contract.

"Morrison has an £18 million release clause in his West Ham contract and there was also a second clause that stated the club would have to increase his wages to £60,000-a-week if they received a £10m bid."

Clearly this won't be invoked by any team, but what it does do is speak volumes about the club's belief in the player that they set the bar so high.

Morrison still has his talent, but he is beset by a lack of application, focus, and off-field troubles. It's this combination which has the Hammers ready to wash their hands of him.

This time last year he was on the up, but a bad 2014 began when he started angling for a move amid interest from Fulham. They resisted on point of principle at the side trying to poach the attacker, but the fallout effectively has ended his career at West Ham. Now they will be wishing they cashed in for the £4 million they were offered.

Dan Coombs

Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.